3 faculty win awards in global excellence

UNC Global Affairs awarded this year's Faculty Awards for Global Excellence to (from left) Peter Coclanis, Audra Rankin and Myron Cohen. (Huth photo)

Three UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members — Peter Coclanis, Dr. Myron Cohen and Audra Rankin — received the 2026 Faculty Awards for Global Excellence. The UNC Global Affairs awards recognize those who advance the University’s “unwavering commitment to excellence as one of the world’s great research universities.”

Peter A. Coclanis is the Albert R. Newsome Distinguished Professor of History in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences and director of the Global Research Institute.
Myron S. Cohen is the Yeargan-Bate Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Epidemiology at the UNC School of Medicine; associate vice chancellor for medical affairs; and global health director of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases.
Audra N. Rankin is a clinical associate professor and director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the UNC School of Nursing and associate faculty director of the UNC Center for the Business of Health.

“At this great research university, we are competitive, committed to excellence,” said Barbara Stephenson, vice provost for global affairs and chief global officer, at the April ceremony. “These three awardees have set quite the example for us.”

Peter Coclanis

Coclanis helped build many of Carolina’s global partnerships, including its long-standing partnership with National University of Singapore. (Huth photo)

A onetime Fulbright U.S. scholar in Singapore, Coclanis helped orchestrate Carolina’s long-standing partnership with the National University of Singapore and sent more than 700 Tar Heels to Singapore. Coclanis also helped launch the Carolina Southeast Asia Summer program, enabling more than 300 students to study there.

As associate provost for international affairs, he expanded Carolina’s commitment to study abroad, strengthened global partnerships and helped oversee construction of the FedEx Global Education Center. He also advanced Carolina’s research mission as founder and director of the Global Research Institute.

“I’ve been here 42 years and have been deeply involved in international activities since the 1990s, so I’ve been able to watch the University evolve and become more globally oriented without straying from its mission to serve the people of the state of North Carolina,” said Coclanis, who will retire this summer.

Myron “Mike” Cohen

Cohen’s landmark HIV/AIDS research helped establish treatment-as-prevention as a viable global public health strategy. (Huth photo)

Cohen is a physician-scientist and founding director of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases, widely known for his pioneering research on HIV/AIDS starting more than 40 years ago. A 2011 landmark study in Malawi showed that early antiretroviral therapy reduced sexual transmission of HIV by at least 96%, proving that “treatment as prevention” was a viable public health strategy.

Cohen’s expertise extended to other pressing global health challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, when he helped develop the COVID-19 Prevention Trials Network connecting researchers across 55 clinical sites in 15 countries.

“What sets Carolina apart as a place for global research and medical discovery is the faculty’s commitment to UNC for the duration of their careers, allowing for the growth of ideas and, probably more importantly, unlimited collaborations across the entire campus,” Cohen said. This summer, Cohen plans to step down from University leadership positions to focus on his teaching and research.

Audra Rankin

Rankin has improved global education in the School of Nursing through COIL partnerships and policy‑driven simulations. (Huth photo)

Rankin is improving education in the UNC School of Nursing and across the University through policy‑driven and simulation‑based learning. She received a Diplomacy Initiative Curriculum Development Award from UNC Global Affairs to integrate into her nursing course a simulation of a high-level United Nations meeting. Students partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina to help improve health care in the state.

Rankin has also embraced Collaborative Online International Learning, partnering with the Ramathibodi School of Nursing in Thailand to study nursing leadership and health policy.

“As an advanced practice nurse and health professions educator, I believe there is so much richness — and beauty — to be found in global education,” Rankin said.